Healthy Eating Habits

1- Develop a healthy and personalized meal plan.
2- Plan your meals in advance.
3- Determine your daily calorie needs.
4- Keep a food diary: Write down every meal, snack, and drink you consume as well as the approximate quantities for an entire week.

• When possible, write down the number of calories in each food you eat as you eat it.
• Keep in mind that the recommended serving size is often considerably smaller than the serving you actually eat.
• Don’t forget to include coffee mix-ins, condiments, and other additions to your daily diet.
• Once you have done this, you should be able to estimate your typical daily calorie intake and compare it to your goal with an online calorie calculator.

5- Identify your food triggers and plan accordingly.
6- Watch your portion sizes.
7- Don’t skip meals
8- Select smart substitutes for unhealthy sources of fat, sugar, and calories.
9- Snack smartly: Swap potato chips and candy bars for snacks that are nutrient-rich and low in calories and fat. Avoid processed and packaged foods when possible, or buy snacks that have single-serving packets of 100 to 200 calories. Healthy and easy snacks include nuts, rice cakes, fresh or dried fruits, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and so on. Vegetables are generally very low in calories, very high in fiber, and full of flavor and nutrition, but avoid fatty dressings or dips. Fruit provides a good source of soluble fiber, releasing energy more slowly and keeping you feeling full longer. Low-fat dairy products, such as yogurt or cheddar cheese, can also be healthy snacks in moderation. Try combining string cheese with a handful of grapes, spreading peanut butter on a few crackers, or dipping sliced red pepper into a few tablespoons of hummus
10- Sip on low-calorie 100% fruit juice, seltzer, or water instead of soft drinks, energy drinks, flavored coffees, and martinis.
11- Choose lean meats.
12- Replace high-calorie side dishes with healthier alternatives: For instance, exchange cheesy pasta or mashed potatoes with steamed vegetables or salad
13- Drinking water instead of soda, coffee, alcohol, juice, or milk may help you cut hundreds of calories per day.
14- Avoid tempting grocery aisles: Avoid the areas in the grocery store that stock sodas, cookies, ice cream, pizzas, and other fattening and highly processed foods, so that you are less likely to purchase unhealthy options.
15- Prepare your meals at home instead of buying fast food.

Healthful Snacks

 

 

 

 

 What many people consider a "snack"—an energy bar, part of a bag of chips, or side order at a fast-food restaurant—can actually have 400 or more calories, making it more like a meal. A true snack, says Melanie Douglass, a registered dietitian and personal trainer based in Salt Lake City, is about 150 to 200 calories. Here are several of her healthful snack suggestions that fit the bill.

1. A cup of high-fiber cereal (like Kashi Heart to Heart) and a small handful of pumpkin seeds.
2. One ounce of nuts, which is about 24 almonds or 15 walnuts.
3. One cup of bran flakes with half a cup of chocolate milk.
4. One handful of red grapes.
5. Skinny Cow brand ice cream treat.
6. Whole-wheat toast—be sure it's 100 percent whole-wheat—with a bit of peanut butter.
7. One stick of string cheese with a piece of fruit.
8. One whole-wheat tortilla with a few spoonfuls of canned black beans.
9. One serving of Greek yogurt with a handful berries.
10. Any fruit or vegetable.